


En Pointe

by R_Sublett



Category: Smosh, Smosh Games, Smosh Pit, Smosh Squad
Genre: Ballet AU, F/M, Fuuuuck yes, I'm gonna mention so many BOPS, the research for this is gonna be killer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-07-20 23:37:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16147949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Sublett/pseuds/R_Sublett
Summary: The New York City ballet has chosen eight talented dancers within their company to preform at a one night only charity event and Boze is one of the lucky dancers. Along side her best friend Courtney, Boze navigates her way through the wonderful world of ballet as her feelings for the talented and mysterious, Damien, deepen.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I am so excited to write this fic as there is so much to learn about ballet. Ballet is such a beautiful form of dance and the compositions created for these dances are stunning as well. I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I have fun writing it!

Boze couldn’t remember the time when ballet wasn’t a part of her life. From the long nights at the dance studios, endless pain of her pointe shoes, homeschooling so she could focus all her time and energy on dancing, and the countless number of shoes she had gone through; ballet had always been a firm fixture in her life. She started at the age of three in a beginners class with all the other little girls and rose to prominence by the age of twenty-one when she landed her dream job at the New York City ballet. She had started out as an understudy, but over time she had worker her way up further and finally got to choose her shoe maker and land a place among the ranks of some of the best dancers in the nation. She had never been prouder.  
Her days were perfectly scheduled out. In the morning she would wake up at five in the morning so she could cram a light workout in before practice. Then she would prepare her dance bag that held an already prepped pair of pointe shoes along with tapes and wool for cushioning. She would eat breakfast which was normally a piece of whole grain toast and fruit, fill up her water bottle, and head to the subway so she could catch her train. From there she would be at practice for about eight to ten hours a day and afterwards she would arrive home to her roommate. As monotonous as her days sounded, she was in love with every bit of being a professional ballet dancer.  
It was a cloudy Monday morning in mid October and Boze was filled with excitement as she made her way into the large dance studio in the company building. Courtney was already stationed in the back corner like always so Boze made her way over to the blond and sat down on the floor next to her. “You excited?” she asked as she pulled off her sweatshirt and placed it in her bag.   
“Hell yeah I am, we were hand picked by the directors which means we must be the best dancers in the company or something!” Courtney said enthusiastically. She was referring to what everyone was buzzing about, the charity event that would take place in December around Christmas. The ticket sales from the event would all be donated to St. Jude Children’s Hospital and it was a special one night only event. The board of directors at the company hand picked eight dancers for the event where they would perform five dances that had yet to be revealed. The company was going all out and rumor had it a special set and new costumes would be designed for the charity event. It made Boze feel incredibly honored and special that the directors chose her, meaning she was one of the top dancers in the company. When she and Courtney found out they both screamed with excitement.  
As Boze wrapped her feet in tape and adjusted her toe spacer she saw Olivia Sui walk in alongside Keith Leak Jr. and Noah Grossman. The three of them seemed pretty close considering how they really only talked to one another and not many other people in the company, but they were friendly and amazingly talented so Boze was happy to see they were picked. And of course after they walked in Shayne Topp and Mari Takahashi trailed in behind the group of three. Boze and everyone else already knew those two were going to be picked considering Mari was the prima ballerina and Shayne was the head ballerina for the boys.   
Those two were the only dancers Boze had ever encountered that made her feel self conscious and intimidated. Yes, they were both the nicest people on the planet and would never shame someone if they asked for tips and tricks, but movement seemed so natural to them and when they danced they were practically unstoppable. Put those two together and you had the best dancers in the country, and last year when they performed the Pas de Deux for Swan Lake it was the most breathtaking dance Boze had ever seen.  
Finally, the last dancer arrived and it was Damien Haas. Boze hadn’t realised Damien was picked and if she had known he was she would’ve better prepared herself. While he was relatively new to the company he was just as talented by Shayne Topp and danced beautifully as Romeo during the spring performance of Romeo and Juliet. He walked in silently as always and sat across the room from Boze and Courtney as he prepared his things, which made Boze thankful because she had time to control her blushing.   
“Oh I guess I forgot to tell you that your boyfriend was picked as well.” Courtney teased as she slid on her ouch pouch and put her shoes over the gel padding. Boze shushed her and rubbed rosin onto her pointe shoes to make sure they wouldn’t slide around during practice. But while Damien wasn’t Boze’s boyfriend she really wasn’t able to stop herself from having a very large crush on him. Maybe it was his talented dancing or perhaps it was his mysterious and quiet personality that made her attracted to him. His brows were always furrowed and his hair just a bit messy which contrasted his perfectly clean shaven face. Everything about Damien was a contrast from the way his skin was pale compared to his dark hair and eyes to his romantic and care free dancing compared to his closed off personality.   
After a few more minutes of everyone prepping their shoes, Mari called for everyone to meet in the middle to discuss the plan for the event. “First of all,” She said as she tied her dark brown hair into a neat bun on the top of her head, “I would just like to say I am so honored to be working with all of you. You weren’t just picked randomly the board enlisted the help of Shayne and I to help pick the best dancers to accompany us in this charity event. So please, give yourself a nice round of applause!” Everyone clapped and smiled at one another, Boze gave Damien a quick glance as he clapped with a small smirk on his face.  
“Next I would like to talk about scheduling. On top of participating in the charity event all of us are still dancing in the in the annual production of The Nutcracker. Because everyone here has performed in The Nutcracker several times whether it be with the NYC company of a previous dance company, we will only have to attend practice for Nutcracker on Tuesdays and Thursdays which the choreographers already have notice for. Nutcracker practices have been moved to hall A, while we will be in here, hall B, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the charity event.” Mari explained. Boze thanked god that she wouldn’t have to attend every single practice for Nutcracker. While the annual performance is fun it’s not always fun to sit around and wait for your chance to practice your dance.  
“Okay,” Shayne said as he clapped his hands firmly together, “now onto some of the exciting stuff that that everyone is wondering about.” Shayne pulled an envelope that had been neatly tucked into a side pocket of his leggings. “The board chose the songs that we would be performing. Mari and I haven’t even seen these so this will be exciting.” After opening the envelope and unfolding the paper Boze watched as Shayne’s eye scanned over the paper quickly before taking a breath to read the dances aloud. She felt so jittery and excited, like a kid on Christmas morning.   
“First we have Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker which as always will be performed by all the girls.” Boze and Courtney smiled at one another, Waltz was always fun and they were doing it for the main Nutcracker performance already so it would be easy. “Next are two dances which we will all be participating in. The dances are Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet and afterwards will be Waltz from Sleeping Beauty.” Boze raised her brows, Waltz wasn’t a bad choice but while the actual composition of Dance of the Knights was a masterpiece the choreography was boring and old fashioned. Hopefully they would change it during rehearsal.   
“Finally the last two pieces are pas de deux dances. The first is The Nutcracker Pas de Deux dance which it say Mari and I will perform considering we are already doing it for the main production and the final is the Swan Theme from Swan Lake which does not have any dancers listed.” Shayne explained as he flipped the paper around to show and empty space next to the dance number.   
“Looks like we’ll have to hold auditions.” Mari said excitedly. “We have a decent amount of time till December fifteenth which is the performance date so I saw we should make it a bit of a challenge! Since Shayne and I are already doing a duet together maybe we should pair everyone else up and have you guys create your own original choreography to the theme. We’ll showcase your performances to the board and they can choose who makes the final cut, sound fun right?” Everyone cheered in excitement and Boze could already feel excitement and nerves bubbling over.   
A chance to perform as Odette _and_ create original duet choreography with someone sounded like a dream. As she did her warm up stretches she couldn’t help but catch another glance at Damien across the room. He ran his fingers through his hair and already seemed to be calculating dance moves for the duet piece. Boze started thinking about the dance as well, hoping she might get the chance to perform as the Swan Princess.


	2. Chapter Two

Tuesday practice went by quickly as Boze was only taking part in the Waltz of the Flowers and Waltz of the Snowflakes, much easier as she only had two costume changes and both had a similar dancing style. Courtney was also a snowflake and a flower with her this year and after practice they made plans to hang out at Boze’s apartment and prepare shoes after grabbing a bite to eat. As Boze packed up her things as she was done for the day Damien was going through the beginning motions of Trepak with the two other dancers. This year he would be the lead dancer of the Russian dance and she watched him go through the fast paced high jumps and leaps through the air. Courtney had to practically drag her out of the practice hall.   
“I don’t get why you’re so opposed to the idea of asking him out.” Courtney said through a mouthful of her sandwich. Boze rolled her eyes and picked at her salad. “C’mon just think about it, I really don’t think he would say no!” Courtney insisted.  
“You’re just saying that to be nice I highly doubt he would agree to go on a date with me.”   
“You’re probably right, he’s like barely human anyways.” Courtney joked which earned her a swift kick from Boze. She just laughed more and Boze tried to scarf down the rest of her food. She had a bag full of shoes she needed to prep anyways.  
They took the subway back to Boze’s apartment which was dark and empty which meant Joven was probably at practice. She really didn’t know how they were roommates considering how different they were. Joven was a friend of Courtney’s and was a hockey player for the New York Rangers and while Boze would come home with beat up feet, Joven would come home with a beat up face. She couldn’t wrap her head around how he managed to put his body through such a strenuous activity but Joven always countered her statement saying that Boze did the exact same thing just a little more elegantly.   
Courtney threw on an episode of American Vandal and the two girls laid out the materials they would need to prepare their shoes. Boze started by bending her shoes in half so they would support her arches. Next she and Courtney sewed on elastics and ribbons to the sides of the shoes and afterwards Courtney started to darn the tips of her shoes with thick string and a large needle. Boze squeezed super glue in the tip of her shoes and after it dried she popped the box of her shoes and banged it on the floor so it wasn’t as loud when she danced. They continued to do it to the rest of the shoes they picked up from the shoe room and would break them in throughout the various practices they would have. Courtney left a little while after they were done so she could go home and get some rest before their practice the next day.   
Boze woke up at her early time the next day as usual and was bubbling with excitement as she got ready for practice. Mari had mentioned something about picking partners today and while that made Boze excited it also filled her with dread. She hoped she could be with either Noah or Keith as they wouldn’t make her self conscious or nervous while dancing. While she secretly hoped to be partnered with Damiens she knew the entire time they would be together she would end up a blushing mess which would probably just make him frustrated, Damien was incredibly serious about dance and as was she, but he had a certain passion that was different from everyone else which is what made him so good.   
She silently walked into the practice hall and put on her fresh pair of shoes with Courtney. They adjusted their shoes before doing some warm ups and eventually they started to feel a little more natural. Boze thought hers were still a little loud but hopefully by the end of the day they would soften up a little. She watched as Damien slid on his ballet flats and stretched his back which displayed the corded muscle he had built up over time. Before he noticed her stares Mari called everyone to the center.  
“By the way,” Courtney whispered to Boze as they walked to the center of the practice hall, “Olivia and Keith already paired up with one another since they’re doing Arabian Dance together for Nutcracker.” The blonds face melted into a coy smile as she turned to Boze and said, “And I went ahead and asked Noah if he wanted to be my partner for all the dances and he agreed so I guess that leaves you with no choice.” She said as Boze’s eyes went wide with horror.  
“So I already know everyone has partnered up which makes things so much easier because aside from Waltz of the Flowers the rest of the dances require partners so Shayne and I were thinking we might as well keep our partners for all the dances.” Mari said with a smile. The blood in Boze’s body felt like it was boiling as she looked up at Courtney with a very large scowl on her face. Courtney didn’t look down at her friend but instead kept her arms crossed and had a very smug looking smirk wiped on her face that Boze wanted to smack off.   
“This will definitely help build chemistry and companionship which will hopefully benefit you guys when you present your dances for the Swan Theme to the board of directors. I know Mari and I are excited to see what you guys come up with, but as for today we thought we could start with Waltz from Sleeping Beauty.” Shayne explained. Courtney nudges Boze’s arm before walking up to Noah proudly. Boze turned her head and already standing in front of her was the dark haired and misty eyed Damien Haas who she was trying desperately to avoid.   
“So,” Damien said with a firm voice. Boze had heard him speak before but never to _her_ and she felt her knees start to buckle, “seems like we’re partners.” He said as he looked her straight in the eyes. Boze was already starting to feel inferior to him and just ended up nodding her head as she tried to keep her eyes off of the floor.   
Mari instructed everyone to stand with their partners in a circle and Damien and Boze walked awkwardly over to their place. She explained that for both the Waltz and the Dance of the Knights she and Shayne found the normal choreography quite boring. “So we decided to incorporate both ballet and the actual dancing style of the waltz for these dances. The fact that we are eight of the best dancers here means we can pull something like this off but today Shayne and I will be going over the basic steps of the waltz just in case anyone needs a refresher course.”  
Boze’s eyebrows raised and a small smile appeared on her face. She looked over at Courtney and gave her a knowing wink, the two of them liked to take extra dance classes because mastering just one type of dance wasn’t really any fun. Boze actually quite enjoyed ballroom dancing such as the waltz so luckily she knew she wouldn’t make a complete fool of herself in front of Damien on their first day of being partners with one another.   
Shayne showed the proper hand placement for the guys and how they should place their hand firmly on the girls upper back and hold their hand up high. Mari showed how the girl should have her head almost lited back and away from her partner and then they went over the basic eight count box step and how everything should feel very fluid. Next they let everyone have a few minutes of free dance so they could get a hang of the motions.  
Boze looked at Damien who seemed to have an expression on his face that seemed almost concerned. She motioned for him to take her hand which he did carefully and Boze tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as Damien placed his hand on her back. “Hopefully this is as difficult for you as it is for me.” Damien said under his breath, Boze only caught a few words that tumbled out of his mouth.  
“Huh?” She asked. He looked down at her but refused to make eye contact as he was almost ashamed of something.   
“I uh,” He said quietly, Boze watched as the mysterious and cool Damien Haas turned into a bumbling mess in front of her. “I said I hope this is as difficult for you as it will be for me.” He finally pushed out. Boze cocked her head at him which made him roll his eyes. “Look, I was only trained in ballet since I was two and a half years old, I don’t _know_ the proper waltz like everyone else here and I was hoping you didn’t know either.”  
“It’s okay if you don’t know the waltz. I took a couple of classes on the side just to learn for fun and it’s quite easy so I wouldn’t mind teaching you a few things.” Boze said as she looked up at her partner. He huffed and went back into the proper waltz position. “If I can learn how to waltz then I know you’ll pick it up in less than ten minutes Damien it’s not difficult.” She assured him. He nodded his head, ready to get on with what might be the most humiliating moment in all of his dancing career.  
Boze switched their hands around so she was the leader and before Damien could protest she was already moving them in an easy box step. Damien’s feel followed behind hers as she walked him slowly through the steps, counting under her breath. She moved to a slightly more advanced move which made them change directions and move across the floor almost effortlessly. As they moved she eventually let go of their hold and used Damien’s hand to guide her through a spin and when they went back into formation Damien was the leader this time.   
His first few steps were slightly hesitant but soon he got the hang of being the leader and Boze looked up at him and smiled. “See, not so bad you’re quite a natural.” She said encouragingly. Damien kept his face refined but she couldn’t help but notice a small smirk finding its way onto the corner of his mouth. Mari called for everyone to regroup and form a circle again so they could go over some of the steps she and Shayne had created.  
“Seems like we’re a pretty good fit.” Damien whispered to Boze as they watched Mari and Shayne go over the first few steps. Boze felt the butterflies in her stomach start to go crazy and she tried to hide the blush that was creeping its way onto her cheeks. “I already had part of a move set planned out for the Swan Theme and with the waltz under my belt I think I’ll be able to come up with a stunning routine for the two of us.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for almost 50 hits already, it really means the world to me especially because there's only two chapters out. I'm really happy that you guys seem to enjoy this fic because I am having so much fun doing all the research and writing for it. Don't be afraid to leave any feedback and a big thank you to everyone who has commented and given this story kudos. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ever since the board announced the charity event everyone in the company had been going wild. Everyone from the young children who help out with the nutcracker, to the set designers, trustee members, and ballerinas had been going insane with excitement over the upcoming event. However, it was Wesley who felt pressured more than anything as he was the head of the costume department for the entire company, and being head of the costume department meant he not only managed the various costumes for all the performances they put on but was also in charge of designing the bulk of the outfits. He had only had the job for about three years and while not many of the costumes were his own designs but instead belonged to the previous head of the costume department, he had been tasked with creating a new line of outfits for the oncoming charity event.  
The board instructed him to design coordinating costumes for the dancers that they would wear for their first three dances as well as a new set of outfits for the pas de deux dancers. The pas de deux costumes were thrown in last minute which added another level of stress on Wes’ shoulders because he thought they would just wear the clothes from either Nutcracker of Swan Lake. What made everything even worse was that the dancers for the final song were still undetermined meaning he would have to finish the costume incredibly last minute. However, he stayed hopeful and decided that for his first round of costumes that he would make for the New York Ballet Company would be the most beautiful things they had ever seen.   
He decided to start out easy and create the tutus for the girls and the tunics for the guys. Wes made sure to speak with Sarah and Sohinki who were the set designers and the three created a color scheme that would be fitting for the event. It would be a mixture of whites, golds, and small hints of silver which would make things feel elegant while also maintaining the holiday spirit. At the beginning of the dancers third practice he quickly took their measurements and started to work on the design for their costumes.   
“Any ideas yet?” Boze asked as he took her waist measurement. Wes smiled and nodded his head a bit before quickly writing down the measurement he had taken. He didn’t speak to the dancers all that much unless it was about their costumes but Boze always made sure to say hello to him as much as she could which he always found nice. For the most part, he just stayed secluded in his small workshop.  
“Romantic tutus are a no,” Wes said as he took a few more measurements, “but that’s all I wanna say. I think it will be much more special if things are kept hidden.” He moved on to Keith and afterwards he went back to his workshop and pulled out his sketchbook.   
The drawings were light and messy and also had a billion notes and arrows pointing to various aspects of the design but after a while he was happy with what he created. Wes covered the sketch with tracing paper and carefully worked out th lines and on a much neater separate sheet of paper he wrote down his annotations about the costumes. When the line work was finished Wes broke out his small set of watercolors and delicately colored in the drawings, making sure to stay within the lines and add the proper shading and colors in the right places.   
He admired his work with a soft smile and tucked a stray strand of silver hair behind his ear. The girls would have a stunning diamond styled tutu that had several layers of white and chiffon fabric that would keep it held up. The top layer would be a subtle white and gold fabric with small silver accents from glitter and jewels. The bodice would be simple with gold and silver thread sewn into white fabric so when the dancers moved and the light hit them just right, they would shine. The boys would wear an elizabethan styled doublet that was white and had gold and silver buttons and threads, making each of them look like prince charming.   
As Wes examined possible fabrics he would use for the costumes he thought about what he would do for Shayne and Mari’s special costumes, as well as the Swan Lake dancers that still needed to be chosen. If he was going to make this event something to remember he needed to create costumes that were stunning, even more spectacular than the ones they already had. The company Sugar Plum Fairy costume was made out of delicate chiffon and silk and was a pretty light pink that had jewels that adorned the bodice and tutu along with hand stitched straps that draped nicely off the shoulder. The Cavalier costume was the same color and was made of a tight fabric that had a deep v-neck. Personally, Wes didn’t really like it that much so he hoped that he could come up with a better design that way the board members would be impressed.

+++

Practice was running smoothly that Friday and Boze and Damien really felt like they were getting a hang of the waltz with each other. Even though it was only the third practice, everyone was having to nail the dance moves as quickly as possible considering how little time they had to prepare for the event in about a month and a half. In their dance sequence for the Sleeping Beauty Waltz they had already moved on to incorporating the ballet elements. By the end of class, the transitions between waltzing and grand jetés starting getting smoother as well as the girls having to dance on pointe during the waltz instead of flat on their feet.  
Boze and Damien were working well together which made Boze excited as they flowed through he dance together. It was a beautiful piece really, and as the violins swelled into a beautiful melody she followed Damien’s lead and tried sucking in her breath when she felt his hand on her back. His skin was cold, causing goosebumps on her shoulders occasionally she would internally shudder when their hands returned to one another. Boze never dared to look at Damien when they danced so closely to one another, she felt like she might burst if she did.   
She didn’t even notice how fast the time was flying and to her dismay practice had come to an end and she was packing up her things in the corner. Courtney was talking to her about possible dinner plans and maybe even catching a movie which seemed nice, neither of them had really hung out and done anything that wasn’t bellet related recently. As Boze wrapped up her pointe shoes which were almost perfectly broken into, Damien approached the two girls. He stood in front of them sort of awkwardly until Courtney noticed him and said a quick ‘Oops! I’ll let you guys talk!’ before leaving quickly and letting Boze sit on the floor in a mildly annoyed state.   
She stood up and shrugged on her jacket before flinging her dance bag over her shoulder. “What’s up?” Boze asked, trying to sound as cool as possible as her crush stood before her.   
“Do you have plans tomorrow night?” He asked casually while running his fingers through his hair. Boze’s throat went dry and her heart started pumping at an unhealthy pace. “Because I was thinking we should start going over the choreography for the pas de deux.” Damien added.  
_Right_ Boze thought to herself as she regained her composure, _the pas de deux, not a date but a dance_. “Yeah I’m free tomorrow night, did you want to meet back here and go over it or do you have a different spot where you practice?”  
“I have a spot, I’ll text you the details sometime tomorrow. Have a good night.” He stated so calmly. Boze nodded and gave him a wide smile, Damien just hesitated and gave his own version of a smile which was just a small smirk but Boze took that as a victory. She walked over to Courney who had been not-so-obviously spying on the two of them. They watched as Damien left the dance hall which gave Courtney to opportunity to pummel Boze with questions.  
“So did he ask you out or not? Is it a dinner date? Movie? Or maybe a-”  
“It’s none of those things!” Boze said while laughing at her friends antics. “We have to go over the choreo for Swan Lake, just like everyone else so really it’s nothing special.” Courtney rolled her eyes.  
“God I really hope that the two of you win that spot, to be honest I think everyone kind of does because me and Noah _really_ don’t feel like coming up with an award winning dance and Keith and Olivia already said you guys look good together.” The blond said excitedly. “It would be so amazing if you did like oh my god it would be so perfect!”  
Boze continued to listen to her best friend rant about how she looked good with Damien and how Courtney swore she saw him look at Boze in some sort of special way. Boze of course denied it, but she secretly hoped that everything her friend was saying was true.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I want to just apologize first. It's taken me literally forever to write this chapter and tbh it's kinda shit. I've got a lot of stuff going on in my personal life right hat I've been focusing on and on top of that I've still gotta dedicate time to school. Hopefully just getting this chapter out of the way will help move things along. Anyways, so sorry it took so long and I hope you enjoy.

The weather forecast predicted it to be a pretty dismal Saturday, and when Courtney Miller woke up that morning the prediction turned out to be true. After doing her morning stretches and grabbing a quick bite to eat for breakfast, she made sure to text Boze. _Be sure to keep me updated on your dancing date with your boooooyyyyfrieeeeend_ she texted with a smile. The little bubble popped up which indicated Boze was already typing a reply, probably furiously, which made Courtney giggle.   
_HE. IS. NOT. MY. BOYFRIEND._ Boze’s text said. Cournet cackled and tucked her phone into her back pocket. She grabbed her dance bag and made sure that her shoes were inside and filled up her water bottle before leaving her apartment. Noah had asked if she wanted to go over some basic choreography for the Swan Theme dance even though neither of them really wanted to ‘win’ the dance in the first place. Noah didn’t want the added stress of performing another dance on top of already doing several for Nutcracker and the charity event and Courtney really didn’t care about winning the dance anyways. Swan Lake was never her favorite ballet anyways, she thought Cinderella was much more fun.   
_Be sure to keep me updated on your little date!_ She said over text, absolutely sure Boze was rolling her eyes and already typing out another furious reply.

+++

Boze balled up her fingers into fists and tucked them deeply into her jacket pockets. It was already raining outside and the wind was absolutely brutal, cutting through her jacket and making it feel like the blood in her neck was freezing. Damien had texted her an address for her to meet him at and even though it was only a five minute walk from the subway station to the address she wished she had called a cab or something because she felt like she was going to freeze to death before she even got to see Damien.   
Finally she arrived at the address which ended up being a large apartment complex close to Time Square. She entered the building and practically ran into the elevator and pressed the button for floor number 14 just as Damien’s text instructed her to do so. The elevator dinged as she rubbed her hands together and tried to warm up her numb fingers and she exited and walked down the hall, looking for the door with 58 listed on it.  
She knocked on the door and waited in complete agony. Nerves were building up and she could feel them in her stomach and if her neck wasn’t so cold there would be sweat forming on the back on it. She heard shuffling and faint music from behind the door and soon it swung open to reveal Damien standing in front of her. His hair was a bit messy and his face had a small amount of scruff forming on it but she liked it a little bit, for once he didn’t look so perfect and stoic but instead he looked much more human.   
“Hey.” He said with a small smile on his face, he awkwardly gestured for her to come inside and Boze took notice that he wasn’t even wearing his normal practice clothing which was usually a tight fitting pair of leggings and a leotard but instead he was wearing baggy basketball shorts and a t-shirt. She thanked god that she had also slightly dressed down for this practice session and underneath her sweatpants she was wearing athletic shorts and a long sleeved shirt under her jacket.   
Boze looked around his apartment and noticed the room that was supposed to be his living room was instead a small dance studio. There wasn’t a couch or any furniture in the room other than a couple bar seats around the small island is his kitchen which was in the back of the room. One wall was lined with mirrors and had a short bar mounted on it and on the other side was a stereo system. “Wow.” She said to him as she looked around the room, “You really take this seriously.”  
“Uh, yeah I guess.” Damien said as he scratched the back of his neck. “You probably wouldn’t wanna see my actual room though considering how cramped it is from all the stuff that’s supposed to go in the living room.” They stood there in silence until Boze realised what was softly playing over the stereo system.  
“Are you listening to Enya?” She asked. Damien’s eyes widened as he forgot that his music was still playing and he whipped out his phone so he could turn off the song One by One by Enya. “I don’t mind, I mean Enya has some slaps you much know that.” Damien started nervously scratching the back of his neck and forced out an even more nervous laugh.  
“Um yeah I guess. Her album A Day Without Rain is pretty good if you ever need something to listen to. But I highly doubt you’d want to practice to anything like that you know?”  
“Do you practice to Enya?” Boze asked. Damien stopped scratching the back of his neck and tucked his phone into his pocket which made Boze’s eyes widen and a large smile appear on her face. “Oh my god you practice to Enya! That’s so cool dude, I secretly practice some of my moves to Lorde songs so I guess we have that in common!”  
“Practicing to female artists who sing mostly depressing and emotional music?” He asked, Boze nodded her head enthusiastically and Damien let out a small sigh of relief. He really didn’t want this whole partnership to start out on the wrong foot which would just make things awkward, and Boze finding out that he fucking loved listening to Enya wasn’t helping anything.   
“So,” Damien said as he did a few warm up stretches, Boze was getting her pointe shoes situated, “I was thinking maybe we should just learn how to dance with each other before we start making actual choreo.”  
“What do you mean?” Boze asked.  
“Well like,” Damien huffed and ran his fingers through his hair, “we’ve gotta build up some level of trust or chemistry I guess?” Damiens cheeks flushed and Boze raised her brows. “Dancing in class is helping but if we want to have a natural flow to the dance we’ve gotta learn each others style first.”  
“I guess that makes sense. Have you picked out an Enya song for us to jam to?” Boze joked. Damien rolled his eyes and she got a soft chuckle out of him. _Thank god I’m finally making progress_

+++

When Boze came home that night she felt like she was walking on a cloud. She had danced with Damien all day and they were both learning each other's individual styles. Together they freestyled to songs like Perfect by Ed Sheeran and One by One by Enya. They had a blast and she learned how funny and personable Damien could actually be. His dancing style was actually quite fluid. He wasn’t afraid to dance in a feminine and sensitive way that made him look vulnerable but at the same time he could dance in broad movements that made him look strong and tough.   
Even though she had denied it being a date to Courtney all day, Boze secretly considered it a date in her mind.


	5. Chapter Five

Mari Takahashi practically breathed ballett. She had been doing it since she was almost four years old, kept with it during her years as a teenager and danced into young adulthood with grace. Now she was over thirty and still danced with as much power and elegance as she had when she was younger. Her feet knew what pain was and she greeted soreness like an old friend. Her old dance instructor used to tell her that, “Pain is now your best friend, you will know it for the rest of your life. Even if you quit dancing.”  
She had faced injuries, wore athletic tape like a badge of honor, yet she still wore her pointe shoes without ouch pouches. Mari’s shoes routine consisted of ripping the entire inside of her shoe out, breaking the arch, banging the box with a hammer, and using a tow spacer and paper towel to give her feet some cushion. Her husband Peter joked about how she was a masochist, how she reveled in the pain she inflicted on her body, but Mari saw pain as motivation to move further and achieve more; show everyone that even through the worst pain you could still be beautiful.  
Earning the spot as prima ballerina at the New York Ballet Company was one of Mari’s greatest accomplishments, that and getting married to the man she loved. Being prima ballerina was a high honor and she was happy to share the stage with her fellow dancers who she believed to be equally as talented as her. In the spring ballet performance when she played Juliet alongside Damien Haas who was Romeo (Shayne never liked the Romeo and Juliet ballet so he decided he would step aside as Romeo and instead play Benvolio) she was stunned by the incredible talent that the brunette dancer showed. He danced so elegantly, almost feminine sometimes, and both she and Shayne were amazed with his talent.   
Mari was also impressed at the talent Boze had shown in her time at the company. Boze had the habit of hiding behind a firm wall of modesty but Mari thought the girl was truly talented. She was so happy to see that Damien and boze had paired up for the charity ballet performance and both her and Shayne were excited for the auditions for the Swan Theme performance. However, everyone already knew who would be winning it, with the exception of those who were actually going to win it.   
Boze and Damien however were still treating the audition with complete seriousness as they filled their weekends with dancing in Damien’s private studio in his apartment. Both felt like they were really making wonderful progress and were just starting in working on lifts in the more dramatic parts of the theme. In rehearsal during the week they danced with fluidity and were practically in sync with one another as Shayne and Mari introduced new choreo their way.   
Shayne and Mari were thrilled to see they two of them dance with complete perfection. “If they keep this up, they might replace us.” Shayne joked one evening as he ate dinner with Mari and her husband. He often came over for dinner and cooked for them, his skills as a chef were pretty amazing, and Mari and Peter loved his company.   
“I honestly don’t think I would mind that.” Mari said as she took a sip of her wine. While she lived to dance a part of her was considering retiring. She was good a teaching and she knew she could still work at the company as an instructor rather than a performer. Shayne still had a few years of dance left in him but his body was also taking a toll. Even though Damien was a year older than him the brunette was still in better condition, his body was just built better for dancing and so was Boze’s.   
“I don’t think I would mind that either.” Shayne responded. As long as someone with equal or more talent took his place he would never be upset about stepping down. And while Damien had the talent he was also likeable behind his cold exterior that he put up. Shayne considered himself to be good enough friends with Damien to where he could say he was actually a pretty nice guy who was more socially awkward rather than rude. 

+++

It was a Tuesday in mid November and the pressure was starting to set in. Boze could feel the buzz around the company with the impending performances of Nutcracker and of course the charity event. The first performance of Nutcracker would premier on the first of December, a Saturday, and would be on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night up until Christmas. The only Saturday the Nutcracker wouldn’t be performed would be on the fifteenth, the night of the charity event and presales for the tickets were already sold out. Courtney said people were spending up to almost two hundred dollars just for some of the bad seats, Boze didn’t even want to know how expensive the box seat tickets were being sold for.   
Wes was working hard on the costumes for the dancers. So far he was almost done with all the mens jackets and would soon be getting in deep with the tutus for the girls. He already had the basic structure laid out but he still had a long way to go until they were finished. He knew he had a many late nights ahead of him and he was thankful he started early on the costumes. They had to be absolutely dazzling.  
As Boze and Courtney walked into the building early that Tuesday morning they made an effort to stop by the shoe room to see Ian who was in charge of it. When they walked in they saw him chatting with David, the carpenter who helped create all the sets alongside Sohinki and Sarah. They were all sipping coffee and had noticeable dark circles under their eyes but still seemed excited nonetheless about the oncoming events in December.   
“How are you guys holding up?” Ian asked as he grabbed a few pairs of shoes for the girls and started restocking a few more cupboards full of other people's shoes.   
“Yeah I heard there was some type of fancy audition for the Swan Theme.” Sarah said excitedly. Courtney smiled and nodded enthusiastically.   
“There most definitely is and Boze is definitely going to win the spot. Her and Damien have some of the greatest chemistry I’ve ever seen!” She said while nudging Boze who was just rolling her eyes. There was a faint blush littering her cheeks that she hoped would go unnoticed.   
Practice went smoothly and Boze was able to go through her steps in Waltz of the Flowers and Waltz of the Snowflakes with ease. Her feet were hurting a but more than normal, mostly due to the extended practices on the weekends with Damien. She felt like they were making great progress in not only their dance but also their friendship. He would start to make jokes more as well as come up to her during and after rehearsal to chat. He could actually be quite funny and they bonded over their similar music tastes.  
Mari and Shayne happily watched the couple converse on the other side of the room and shared a small fist bump. Practically everyone in the company shipped the two dancers and the two principal ballerinas wanted credit for setting them up.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up guys, I know I'm literal trash. But I just want to thank everyone who has been reading this story even though I never update it. I always feel super shitty when I don't update but things are kind of trash in my life rn so I just wanna update yall on that. But I think things will be turning around pretty soon so that's nice, hopefully yall will enjoy this chapter, I know it's short and kind of shit, but the next one will be like ten times better I promise. I love all of you.

Boze returned to her apartment after a Wednesday practice with sore limbs and even more sore feet. It had been sort of a rough day, the weather was throwing everyone off because of how dreary it was and she had woken up with a nasty blister on the side of her right foot. Damien said it was nothing to worry about and he didn’t push her too hard on their dances but boze still felt practically useless. No one else was really able to concentrate on their own choreo which lead to frustration from everyone, Shayne dismissed practice early because everyone seemed to need time to rest.  
The apartment was well lit when she entered it and when Boze entered the kitchen she saw Joven was home for once with his friend Tanner. Both of them played for the New York Rangers hockey team and they greeted her with wide smiles and big hugs when she went to grab a water from the fridge. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages ever since these crazy rehearsals started up!” Joven said excitedly. He was cooking something on the stove, it looked like pasta, and Boze’s stomach growled.  
“Yeah I know, it’s been a while. Save some food for me.”  
“Not gonna eat one of your salads that you prepped?” Joven asked in feigned surprise. Boze just shook her head no and he could tell she probably had a tough rehearsal. She cracked her water bottle and watched as the pasta in the pot boiled while Tanner stirred the sauce. Joven and his teammate continued talking about hockey related things, something she could never understand, and eventually their meal was ready.  
Joven served her a large portion and they all went into the small living room where the boys resumed watching the latest season of Daredevil and Boze ate quietly. The dinner was good, really good, and she had forgotten how good pasta was. It had been a hot minute since she had a proper meal and it was truly paying off.   
“Man I really tried getting tickets to your performance but when they went on sale the sold out in record time.” Joven said, it made Boze smile that he even thought about going to the charity event. Joven never really understood ballet and she knew he thought it was boring, and she understood why he would think something like that, but it still made her happy that he would try and go to the event.  
“Maybe I can find a way to squeeze you in somewhere, I’ll ask around.”  
“You don’t have to do that.” Joven said as he nudged Boze with his elbow.  
“Nah, I didn’t even know that you wanted to come, I’ll try and figure something out for you.”  
After a while Boze left the boys and returned to her bathroom where she took a quick shower and slumped under the covers in her bed afterwards. 

+++

 

The Swan Lake Theme played through Boze’s earbuds as she walked through the doors to the company. She pictured some of the moves she and Damien had created and pieced together and as she walked to the dance hall she practiced a few of her steps. The music swelled into the beautiful climax where Damien had planned on doing a lift, they hadn’t practiced it yet but they would soon, and Boze pictured herself up in the air with a marvelous tutu in the arms of her crush. It was a complete high school daydream that she was thinking up but it still made her smile.   
She walked into the dance hall and set her things on the ground. It was another day of Nutcracker practice which she started to dread at this point because she already knew her two dances so well, but either way she started wrapping her toes and slipped on her slippers.   
“Hey.” Boze’s shoulders jerked and she looked up to see Damien standing above her. His hair was messy and he was in his normal practice attire, but a small smile adorned his face and Boze hoped it was meant for her. “I talked to Mari and Shayne and they said we could go ahead and use the empty practice hall to work on our dance today, they aren’t going over any of the stuff we are in for this practice. You wanna work on our dance?”  
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Boze said quietly. Damien reached his hand out and helped her up and after she grabbed her dance bag they headed towards the empty practice room. Once inside Damien pulled out a small bluetooth speaker and connected his phone. After doing a few warm up stretches and slight shoe readjustments, both dancers got into their starting positions and Damien pressed play on his phone.  
It started with Boze doing a few twirls which turned into leaps. Up on her toes she moved across the floor by herself as Damien stood entranced, watching her move so gracefully. Once the music brought the horns in Damien was by her side and they moved in sync. Together the moved in a graceful waltz, boze on her toes as the piece brought in strings.   
They twirled in sync and moved back into waltz. As the music swelled and got louder and louder Damien took Boze by the wrist unexpectedly and in one quick movement he lifted her in the air. It was hand on hand and Boze’s legs were to his side gracefully as she was held above his shoulders. She let out a loud breath and a loud giggle. He slowly spun and turned her around and as the song ended the was placed to the floor.  
“I’m sure we can work out logistics but for a first, unexpected lift I think that went pretty well.” Damien said as the music slowly stopped. He looked down at Boze and ignored how awfully close they were to one another.  
“Auditions are coming up soon, do you think we will be ready in time?” Boze asked, a twinge of anxiety in her voice. Damien smiled at her and nodded his head.  
“I think we will be more than prepared, I think we will win the spot without a doubt.”


	7. Updates

Hey guys it's Rebecca. I know that there are probably like _maybe_ three people that actually keep up with my stuff so this goes put to those three people.

Lately I've just been so uninspired by this fic but also creating fanfiction for this fandom. There are several factors playing into this which include Defy shutting down and the fact that Smosh sort of broke up in a way (let's all face it, Smosh and Smosh Pit _might_ make a huge comeback but Smosh Games is dead, and Smosh Games was who I was the biggest fan of), the fact that I don't really feel comfortable shipping these people in general, and just a lot of shit going down on Tumblr within this fandom that makes me feel super icky about being apart of it. 

I started writing fanfiction in the summer of 2017 right before I became a junior in high school. I did it because I wanted a way to get feedback on my writing and focus on story telling instead of creating original characters. I made Shaymien fanfiction because I knew it was going to blow up, not because I actually shipped it and I never will. However over time I realized I was basically creating original characters because the characters in my Smosh fanfic, were nothing like their source material because I am so uncomfortable with writing these people in actual real life scenarios. 

Suddenly one of the things I enjoyed doing became a huge chore and at the same time I felt like all the stuff I was doing was for nothing. Not to sound like I'm whining but I feel like none of my stuff has every been truly appreciated unless I'm writing about Shaymien. I've never been on rec lists, been recognized by Tumblr or been included in the Smosh community on there, and I feel like at this point everyone ships Shaymien so much it's almost like people fetishize these two people and the idea of them being together and I really hate it. My favorite story I've written on here, one that is original and exciting and something I'm super proud of has the least amount of hits and notes and it's incredibly discouraging to have that happen to something you thought people would like. 

So for now I'm putting all Smosh fanfic on hold. I've got tones of ideas that I want to write about that don't involve this fandom and maybe one day I'll come back and finish En Pointe. I know a lot of you will probably not read anything I produce that isn't Smosh related and that's okay but I would like to thank everyone who has given my stories a read, a like, and a HUGE thank you goes out to people who leave comments. I see you and I love you. 

This isn't goodbye, I've got stuff planned, but I know to a lot of you I probably won't hear from you again. Thanks so much for all the support over the past year and a half. I'm still super active on Tumblr and if you would like to contact me there you can find me at @rsublett. 

With love,  
Rebecca


End file.
